I am super pleased at another big result
Burnley have beaten Stoke City 1-0 at Turf Moor, the same result as last season, and it is the same reaction from under threat Stoke manager Mark Hughes who, as was the case last April, couldn’t understand how his side had not gone on to win the game.
Abused by his own fans at times and the subject of taunts from the Burnley fans, Hughes said after the game: “It wasn’t the result we wanted and it wasn’t the result we deserved to be perfectly honest.
“I thought my guys were absolutely magnificent in standing up to the challenge they faced here tonight, especially on the back of what happened at Wembley on Saturday. We knew what they would do tonight and we restricted them to very few opportunities, in fact I think their goal was the only shot they had on target all evening.
“Unfortunately we lost Kurt Zouma which diminished our ability to deal with balls in the air and as it happened a long ball forward found its way through to their lad, who finishes well to be fair to him to win the game.
“Please don’t anybody tell me that was what we deserved because there is no way we or they deserved that tonight.
“I have a group of players who are good at this level, and they are working incredibly hard to put this run of form behind us. It is difficult at the moment, we are going through a tough period, but the lads stood up to the challenge tonight and gave everything they had to try and get a positive result.
“I told them after the match that if they can produce what they produced moving forward then we will be fine. I am already looking forward to the West Ham United game on Saturday, it’s a big one and one we need to win.”
“The conditions were awful, it must be said, and the game was probably as ugly as the weather’s been for a couple of days now, but you have to find a way to win and I’m delighted we did that.
“Both teams tried to make sense of harsh conditions and had a real go at winning it, but it is very difficult to win games at this level, and especially against a side who gave a big response from the weekend.
“We were a bit below par, especially in the first half, so we had to dig in there and do all the ugly details and finally found a moment of real true quality. What a fantastic goal that is and Ash has done that before for us.”
Burnley continue to win these tight games and this result follows on from 1-0 wins this season against Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle, Southampton and Watford.
Dyche added: “1-0 is a very good result when you are a manager. I remember playing under Brian Clough and that was his favourite result; a clean sheet and a goal to win it.
“Tonight is to be enjoyed by everyone here, and it’s important that the fans have dreams. For me it’s about realities and we have another tough game on Saturday.
“We’ve all earned the right to enjoy it, and I do because we really had to find a different way to win it tonight and work to grind it out, but that will be parked on Thursday. The next game is always the one we focus on and tonight will be no different, but I am super pleased at another big result.”
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